


December 24

by VR_Trakowski



Series: Advent 2015 [24]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Advent Calendar, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5537714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VR_Trakowski/pseuds/VR_Trakowski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celebrating Christmas together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	December 24

**Author's Note:**

> Explanation [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5333558).
> 
> Sorry this is late; Christmas, etc. 
> 
> If you've been following along, thanks for putting up with this rather random chain of story! 
> 
> Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Jupiter looked around at the apartment.  It was just about finished--not anything spectacular, but that wasn’t the point.   _ Good thing, too.  Aunt Nino gets the ‘flu, and there goes my leisure time. _

But for not having any time to shop or even plan, their place looked pretty good.  The small tree was done up in colored lights, and there were more looped along the walls; she’d found a streaming radio station that played carols, and even managed to scrounge a wreath for the door.  A couple of stockings were propped next to the heater register.  

There were no presents under the tree; Caine had admitted that he was having trouble with the issue, and Jupiter knew  _ she _ was--what  _ did  _ you get your semi-alien lover who had almost nothing?  

“We’ll call it minimalist,” Jupiter muttered to herself.  There would be time for presents a little later, when they both had a better idea of what they were doing.  

The door opened, and Caine came in, laden with bags.  “Dinner’s here, your Majesty,” he said, looking pleased.  “And yes, I made sure that Ryven gave the delivery person a tip.”  

Jupiter took a bag from him.  “Did you leave Ryven any of this?”  The Legion-appointed guards could be funny about Earth foods, but the one on duty that night was open-minded.  

“She took some eggrolls.”  Caine put the rest on the table.  “So this is your traditional Christmas food?”  

Jupiter snickered.  “For some of us, yeah.  Kind of a stereotype but it works.”  She helped Caine unpack the bags, watching him out of the corner of her eye and trying not to seem obvious about it.  The last day or so he had been unusually at ease, as if he had solved some problem or concern, and Jupiter was both pleased and puzzled by the change.  

Actually celebrating Christmas had been her idea, since Caine had seemed so curious about the holiday.  He’d been quite willing to go along with it, and Jupiter admitted that it was kind of fun, picking the traditions she wanted and leaving the rest.   _ No caroling! _

They took their time with dinner--Caine, having discovered Chinese food earlier in the year, was passionately fond of it, and Jupiter was planning on introducing him to Indian as soon as possible--but eventually what little remained was consigned to the fridge, and they moved to the couch.  

“Stockings now, or later?” Jupiter asked.  Caine glanced over at them, sniffed, and reached out a long arm.  Jupiter laughed.  

“How can you be hungry after eating so much dinner?” she said as Caine upended his stocking in his lap and a river of Hershey’s Kisses poured out.  

“That was dinner,” he said, unwrapping one deftly and holding it to her lips.  “This is chocolate.”  

Jupiter drew the line at one, while Caine ate a handful with a look of utter bliss.  Her own stocking held candied almonds and peppermint balls, her own favorites, and she opened one of the latter as they relaxed and listened to the music.  

“So what do you think?” Jupiter asked after a while, sliding down to put her head in Caine’s lap.  “Of Christmas, I mean.”  

He looked down at her, stroking one finger along her jaw in a slow caress.  “I think I figured it out.”  

“Oh?”  Jupiter leaned into his touch.  “What do you mean?”  

He blinked, slow and contented.  “It’s a lot of different things, but underneath them all...it’s about hope.”  

Jupiter thought about that for a minute.  “Yeah,” she said slowly.  “I think you’re right.”  

Behind all the rush and bustle, the lights and music, the giving and getting--there was that one thread of looking forward, looking up.  Of pretending the world was a better place, on the off-chance that it might actually come true.  

The idea that  _ Jupiter _ could make it better, on a bigger scale than anyone else, well...she was still getting used to that one.  

“There is one thing I’m still wondering about,” Caine said, and when Jupiter looked up he was smiling.  “This parasitic plant called mistletoe--”  

Slowly, Jupiter grinned back.  


End file.
